Police bid to ban Britain First from Bury Park

Beds Police has launched a High Court bid to ban the leaders of a far-right group from entering Bury Park – a year after it failed to push through an identical application.

Britain First leaders Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen will appear in court on August 15 to fight against the injunction application, which would see them banned from entering Bury Park and every mosque in England and Wales for a period of three years.

If successful the injuction would allow police to arrest the pair if they:

– Enter Luton town centre without giving 14 days notice and asking the permission of Beds Police, which could be refused

– Direct activists to Bury Park

– Enter Luton more than once every two months

– Direct activists to Luton without prior warning

– Publish videos and pictures of activities in Bury Park

The bid comes a year after Beds Police launched another High Court application against Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen, in an attempt to ban them from Luton “and its surrounding area” prior to a Britain First march last June.

Beds Police contended that the protest would be “highly provocative” and had the chance to cause “major disruption and serious public disorder”.

The force failed in its bid to block Golding and Fransen from Luton but an interim injuction was handed down which banned the pair from publishing or distributing material which is “likely to stir up religious and/or racial hatred” and from behaving in a way that would cause “harassment, alarm or distress”.

Eight months later Golding and Fransen were handed a temporary ban from Luton, after they staged what they called a ‘Christian Patrol’ through Bury Park.

The ban came as part of bail conditions imposed on the pair, who were both arrested on suspicion of a public order offence following the ‘patrol’.

Paul Golding has admitted that Beds Police’s most recent injunction application could spell the end of Britain First.

He said: “As this is the High Court in London, we simply have to win.

“If we lose not only will we face an avalanche of new injunctions being sought, but we will probably be liable for the costs of the other side.

“This will run into the tens of thousands of pounds.

“This is all or nothing, if we do not win we are finished.”

In a statement chief superintendent David Boyle told the Herald & Post that the force is attempting to get the injunction “due to concerns that their presence in these areas could increase the possibility of disorder and anti-social behaviour.”

He said: “I would like to be clear that it is not our intention to ban any demonstration and we will always facilitate peaceful protest where possible.”

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